Here’s a quick & dirty portable kegerator I put together recently. I used the garbage can a few times last summer with picnic taps on the kegs. It worked pretty good so I decided to take it to the next level and add faucets and a bit of insulation (camping pad). I need to add a drain so I can attach a length of tubing to drain the water away from it. I’m thinking a bottling bucket spigot might do the trick. Other ideas are most welcome! Here are a few pics. Cheers, and thanks for looking!!!
The Portable Kegerator fully assembled:
Top view from the front:
Top view from the back:
Rear view with the hole for the CO2 line:
I used the leftover camping pad material to insulate the lid a bit:
Pretty neat. I love a relatively cheap and good solution to a problem.
Do you put the CO2 tank in with the ice? I only ask because I recently acquired a kegging system and have been wondering what could happen if the CO2 tank is submerged.
I need to figure out what the fittings are made of (I think they’re copper or brass). If they can corrode, submerging may be an issue. I also worry about the gauges.
Anyway, neat design. I may copy it if that’s OK with you.
CO2 will be outside the kegerator. In the last pic you can see there’s a small hole where the line will feed through. I did it that way primarily because I didn’t want to lose the space for the ice, although I could have placed it on a pedestal of sorts so the ice would encompass the bottoms of the kegs but this seemed cleaner. Cheers!!!
Very nice solution. I recently came into possession of a few kegs and tanks and have been wondering how I would take my beer to gatherings away from home. I definitely see something like this in my future. Thanks!
Well, so far I’ve only gone from the kegerator in the basement to the portable kegerator on deck so that’s probably not a good example. In the past when I transported I did a tank to tank transfer to eliminate the bulk of the yeast. It’s usually ready by the time the beer gets cold. I have a short line with two OUT QD’s for that purpose. Cheers!!!
Any chance we can see a list of materials used and a ballpark cost for the parts you purchased?
Also, is the furniture cart attached? I was trying to think of how i would ever attach it. I was thinking of a plastic board cut to the shape of bottom of the bin, secured with 4 bolts though the cart, with a rubber bushing between each component to create a seal. That would allow for some give to guard from the bin getting ripped when people push it around. It would also give the kegs a level surface to sit on.
Some sealants might be needed to keep the drain and cart attachment holes from leaking but im guessing the bin condensates fairly heavily. Trying to make it usable indoors might be much more difficult.
I wonder if you could somehow create a way to see how much is left in each keg with some meters outside. Probably overkill. Ill think about it today.
One of my primary objectives was to keep the cost down, within my budget.
Here’s a breakdown:
Garbage Can $8.00
Faucet assemblies $50.00
Insulation $6.00
QD’s & hoses & clamps $25.00
Drain Faucet $8.00
CO2 Tank - I have a spare tank so no additional cost
Furniture Dolly - I already had this so no additional cost
Wood - Had a piece of cedar laying around
Duct tape - $ negligible.
AHA stickers - $ one family membership for 3 years
Total out of pocket cost ~$100
Bleh. I’m too lazy to collect, clean, and fill all those mini-kegs. [/quote]
Now that I’m “macro” kegging too,I’m gonna try filling a very few micros from the macro. I’ve got 6 cases clean so i’m thinking I’ll sanitize, cap, carry, as needed.
Bleh. I’m too lazy to collect, clean, and fill all those mini-kegs. [/quote]
Now that I’m “macro” kegging too,I’m gonna try filling a very few micros from the macro. I’ve got 6 cases clean so i’m thinking I’ll sanitize, cap, carry, as needed.
:cheers: [/quote]
Yes, that works, or get some growlers. They work even better. Use them all the time for brew club gatherings. But for real gatherings 2 kegs will trump 100+ bottles any day IMO. Cheers!!!
hamiltont, thanks for sharing. I definitely think I need one of these up at the cabin. If I were to change one thing I would opt for a lighter color garbage can to keep the ice from melting too fast. Or I guess you could always wrap it in a light color blanket.
-mark-
[quote=“Alfalfa_Male”]hamiltont, thanks for sharing. I definitely think I need one of these up at the cabin. If I were to change one thing I would opt for a lighter color garbage can to keep the ice from melting too fast. Or I guess you could always wrap it in a light color blanket.
-mark-[/quote]
Good point Mark. I plan to keep it in the shade and I might cover it if I expect to be serving more than a few hours. Thanks for the idea!! Cheers!!!
The drain you added will be handy if you have a lot of ice melt water. As the keg gets drained they will want to float up when you open the lid and be a PITA, with the drain you can control that.
Ahhhh, to be sitting outside on a deck with a couple of fine taps within reach. It’s only another 3 months away…
The drain you added will be handy if you have a lot of ice melt water. As the keg gets drained they will want to float up when you open the lid and be a PITA, with the drain you can control that.
Ahhhh, to be sitting outside on a deck with a couple of fine taps within reach. It’s only another 3 months away…[/quote]
